Scientific evaluation of smallholder land use knowledge in Central Kenya

Abstract

The following study was conducted to determine smallholders' land use management practices and agricultural indicators of soil quality within farmers' fields in Chuka and Gachoka divisions in Kenya's Central Highlands. Data on cropping practices and soil indicators were collected from farmers through face-to-face interviews and field examinations. Farmers characterised their fields into high and low fertility plots, after which soils were geo-referenced and sampled at surface depth (0-20 cm) for subsequent physical and chemical analyses. Farmers' indicators for distinguishing productive and non-productive fields included crop yield, crop performance and weed species. Soils that were characterised as fertile, had significantly higher chemical characteristics than the fields that were of poor quality. Fertile soils had significantly higher pH, total organic carbon, exchangeable cations and available nitrogen. Factor analysis identified four main factors that explained 76 per cent of the total variance in soil quality. The factors were connected with farmers' soil assessment indicators and main soil processes that influenced soil quality in Central Kenya. Soil fertility and crop management practices that were investigated indicated that farmers understood and consequently utilised spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability in soil quality status within their farms to maintain and enhance agricultural productivity.

Impacts of heterogeneity in soil fertility on legume-finger millet productivity, farmers’ targeting and economic benefits

“…Significantly better soil pH, SOC, exchangeable bases were found in good than poor fields located in the upper landscape position in Onamudian village. Our results agree with findings in central Kenya that farmer's local knowledge can be used to categorise the relative fertility of fields within their farms (Mairura et al 2008). This farmer categorisation is, however, relative to the specific context: good fields in Chelekura were similar to poor fields in Onamudian (Table 1).…”

Agrobiodiversity conservation enhances food security in subsistence-based farming systems of Eastern Kenya

“…The household heads were the sole decision makers regarding crops grown where elderly people had high preference for indigenous crops for nutritional and medicinal purposes [24]. Zingore et al [33] recorded similar results in Zimbabwe where elderly smallholder farmers put more emphasis on traditional crop varieties.…”

“…The area is largely semi-arid and receives a bimodal pattern of rainfall, which is <1000 mm per year [23]. The county residents are subsistence farmers with intensively managed crop-livestock enterprises and slope cultivation that cover up to 60 % [24]. The agricultural sector is dominated by coffee, tea, bananas, beans, macadamia, sorghum and livestock production that comprises of dairy cattle, goats and sheep.…”

Evaluation of soil quality identified by local farmers in Mai-Negus catchment, northern Ethiopia

“…Thus, maintaining the levels of production or aspiring to increase output in order to meet the needs of the ever increasing number of people requires improvement of soil quality. This has sparked interest in the concept of SQ assessment (Barrios and Trejo, 2003;Karlen et al, 2001;Larson and Pierce, 1994;Mairura et al, 2008).…”